Marketing & Recruitment

View a video of a previous faculty led program

Marketing

Promotion and recruitment is a crucial part of any study abroad program. Active involvement in the recruitment process by the program leader and/or departmental sponsor can make all the difference in a program’s success or failure. CIE can provide some assistance when it comes to marketing and some promotion but it is very important that the faculty member recruits in addition to CIE.

Once your proposal is submitted, reviewed and you’ve met with CIE, your Study Abroad Coordinator will create a page on our website specific to your program – we refer to it is a brochure page. It can be accessed directly through a URL your Coordinator will share with you, and if you would prefer something printed, your Study Abroad Coordinator can make a printed version upon request.

In addition to CIE’s marketing items, it is highly recommended that Program leaders create their own marketing materials. If doing so, please coordinate with CIE. At a minimum, CIE will need to approve the use of the UWM and CIE logos, but we’ll also help to ensure that the content and message are correct and accurate.

For more marketing suggestions, please refer to CIE’s Study Abroad Resources page.

Recruitment

Effective recruitment almost always determines the success or failure of a program.  Some tips for recruitment:

Program Name and Description

Naming your study abroad program is just as important as describing the type of things that will be accomplished during your program. Work with your Study Abroad Advisor to ensure that your program description fits your target audience. Similarly, program names should accurately and succinctly reflect the program theme and catch the student’s interest to learn more.

Remember that students are often most concerned with issues of value and uniqueness as it fits with their degree requirements and personal interests and needs.

Host Information Sessions

These meetings are a great way to bring together groups of interested students. The students aren’t signing up just to go abroad – they’re signing up for your program, and they need to get a sense of who you are. Set a date/time for an information session well ahead of the application deadline, and also be sure to invite your Study Abroad Coordinator!

Class

Announce the program in all classes that you teach, as well as those in which students are eligible to participate. The CIE Study Abroad Office conducts class visits and presentation across campus, but we’re happy to target specific courses at your direction, and can even come to present to your class.

Advising Hours

Discuss the program with students whom you advise, if they are eligible to enroll. This kind of face-to-face promotion is often the most direct and most effective.

Departmental

Describe the program to your colleagues and ask them to help you recruit. If your program may appeal to students in other disciplines, you’ll want to make contact with those faculty members as well.

Give colleagues and students a copy of the program flyer developed and printed by CIE.

Outreach

Your Study Abroad Coordinator will help you maintain a running list of interested students and stay in touch to keep them aware of this opportunity. You’ll have an email reflector that you can use to send out emails to students on this list. Maintaining frequent communication with the students is vital in keeping students interested, engaged and excited about participating on your program. Don’t overwhelm them with an onslaught of emails, but certainly once every week to ten days is appropriate.

Past Participants

If you’ve led the program in the past, reach out to former participants and enlist their assistance with class visits, information sessions and other recruitment activities. They are, hands down, the best recruiters you could hope for!

Word of Mouth

Truth in advertising! When you speak with students or colleagues about your program, remember that they may have no idea about what the program site, the study facilities, the additional activities, and the living arrangements will be like. You need to describe these in positive, but accurate terms.

Recruitment of Non-UWM Students

Non-UMW students are welcome to apply to UWM programs, and you can certainly recruit locally, regionally and nationally for your program. Keep in mind, though, that in the event of space limitations, priority must go to UWM students. In many cases the addition of Non-UWM students can help a program with budget viability, but also has the benefit of bringing in diverse students and perspectives.